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Is Jake Cuenca nervous about being directed by Coco Martin?

Jake Cuenca (left) says he was handpicked by Coco Martin to play the villain Lizardo in the upcoming remake of Ang Panday. This MMFF 2017 entry will be topbilled by Coco who will also serve as the director of the project.

Jake Cuenca is excited to work with Coco Martin, not just as a co-actor but also as his director.

Coco is set to topbill the remake of Ang Panday on the big screen, which is also his film directorial debut.

Jake is tapped to play the main villain, Lizardo.

Asked if Jake is nervous to be directed by Coco, he replied, “No, no. I’m so easy to talk to.

“I know he’s coming in there and he’s my director. He’s the captain of the ship,” replied Jake at the July 31 press conference of his Cinemalaya 2017 entry titled Requited.

Jake and Coco worked together in a couple of teleseryes before, such as Tayong Dalawa (2009) and Ikaw Lamang (2014).

As early as now, Jake said that he is already referring to Coco as “Direk.”

“As an actor and I’m a professional actor, I know the hierarchy of that. I’m already calling him Direk.

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“For me, I’m here to help him out and I’m here to give life to this thing he wants to create.”

He also feels honored to be handpicked by Coco for the role.

“There’s a reason why Coco chose me to do this role.

“Naiintindihan niya na we’ll do this together and we’re gonna make an epic here.”

He has this to say about Coco as the director of the movie.

“I expect him to know what he wants and he’ll be relentless in getting that, so natutuwa ako. I’m excited to work with him.”

JAKE AS A PRODUCER. Meanwhile, Jake is also trying his hand at being a film producer.

In Requited, the actor waived his talent fee to finance the movie.

His character named Matt is diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He journeys to fulfill his ultimate goal of biking all the way from Manila to Mt. Pinatubo, while defying nature and encountering the woman he wants to be with along the way.

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He hopes that his indie film will please viewers and be recommended through word of mouth, the same way that film Kita Kita succeeded through word of mouth and eventually became such a huge hit.

“If it gets so much word of mouth like Kita Kita… they weren’t promoting it on TV, it’s just word of mouth and if it just gets like that, if it touches people and people talk about it, in a small scale that’s already successful,” said the ABS-CBN actor.

Requited also stars Anna Luna and directed by Nerissa Picadizo.

Along with other Cinemalaya entries, it will be screened from August 4-13, 2017 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Ayala Cinemas namely: Greenbelt 1, Glorietta 4, UP Town Center, TriNoma, Fairview Terraces, and Marquee Mall in Pampanga.